Brewers fall victim to the long ball

When the Atlanta Braves hit home runs, they usually win. They hit three of them last night and knocked off the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 at Miller Park.

Carlos Gomez gave the Brewers an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, taking the first pitch from Braves starter Alex Wood and sending it over the center field wall for a solo home run.

But Wood settled down from there. The 23-year-old left-hander allowed just five hits and one run over seven innings. Wood struck out five and walked three in the Braves victory.

Kyle Lohse breezed through the first three innings, got out of a jam in the fourth and didn’t give up any runs until the 5th. Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons walked with one-out and Jason Heyward followed with a home run to right, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead.

Lohse also surrendered the first of Freddie Freeman’s two home runs in the seventh. Lohse finished the night by pitching seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He took the loss.

Freeman would homer again in the 8th, this time off of reliever Zach Duke to go up 4-1.

Aaron Harang (1-2 in 2013) pitches for the Braves in the series final this afternoon (12:10pm first pitch). Matt Garza makes his first official start for the Brewers.